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Leaving for long awaited trip to Middle Atlantic and Elderhostel

My husband and I are leaving next week to drive east. (We are middle westerners.) we are going to spend a couple of days in West Virginia (hoping not to be too early for color) near Buckhampton and then New River area. Then to Williamsburg for an Elderhostel. Spending a couple of days in Maryland..near St Mary's and then the eastern Shore, Chestertown and down to Crisfield for another Elderhostel. My hope is that some one will tell us about "must sees and must dos". People on this board are so knowledgeable!!

You picked a lovely time of year to visit the Chesapeake Bay area. St Mary's City, Chestertown, and Crisfield are all small, quiet waterfront towns. On your drive from St Mary's City to Chestertown you might want to leave early enough to spend a few hours visiting Annapolis. Try to catch a guided tour of the historic downtown area; they are excellent. You'll find lots of places to eat lunch near the city dock.

If you're in Chestertown on the 29th, you can take a drive over to Rock Hall for their annual Fall Fest. Buy a ticket (in advance) to see Deanna Bogart in concert while you're there. She can really rock.

The Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge is also a great place visit while you're in Chestertown. Most of the osprey's have already left for their winter homes, but you may be able to see some bald eagles. Just don't plan to go on Sept 29. The Refuge will be closed for a white-tailed deer hunt.

If you have enough time on your way to Crisfield, you could take a detour to St Michaels. It's another small waterfront town that's a little more touristy than the others - lots of little shops and places to eat, and a really nice maritime museum. There are several boat tours you can take, including one on a skipjack. Everything is within easy walking distance. A lot of people like to ride bikes from St Michaels to Oxford, crossing the Tred Avon River by ferry. It's an easy, flat ride.

September is probably the best time of year for Chesapeake Bay blue crabs, although this hasn't been a very good year for them. We still wouldn't miss getting crabs if we were in Crisfield. It's oyster season, too.

When you leave Crisfield (or if you just want to get out of town for little while), it's only about an hour's drive to Chincoteague, Virginia and the Assateague Island National Seashore, home of the famous wild horses.

I live in WV and I am not familiar with Buckhampton. Do you possibly mean Buckhannon? If so, where are you staying (you said near the town)? I can give you some "must see" things to do. I would recommend heading to Canaan Valley which is about 1 hour from Buckhannon rather than staying in Buckhannon unless you are going there for a specific reason.

As to the color of the leaves: If you mean Buckhannon, I was there and in Canaan Valley last weekend. (Canaan is an outside adventure and ski area). Very few leaves had changed in Buckhannon. In Canaan, there are many more which have changed color but it is not yet at peak. I'll be heading in that direction again this weekend and will let you know the latest.